because hes one of the best players in the world. | Forum

BOSTON -- The Boston Celtics took their defense from solid in the first half to stifling in the second. http:///...arson-Palmer-Jersey/ .Isaiah Thomas scored 16 of his 26 points after halftime and Al Horford had 18 points and five blocked shots as Boston beat the Charlotte Hornets 96-88 on Friday night to stop a three-game slide.Coach just told us we needed to step up our level of energy a little more on the defensive end, Horford said. We did that and that was the big difference.Getting Thomas back after he missed four straight games with a groin strain didnt hurt, either.Thomas scored nine in the third quarter as the Celtics fought back from a 12-point deficit. He added seven in the fourth to help Boston put away the Hornets.We got stops and got running, Thomas said. The one thing we did in the fourth quarter is we just spaced the floor and made plays for each other. Guys hit big shots.Avery Bradley and Jae Crowder added 12 points apiece for the Celtics, who held the Hornets to 13 field goals in the second half.Charlotte played without leading scorer Kemba Walker, who did not travel with the team due to personal reasons, and lost its fourth straight.Although the Hornets outrebounded Boston 54-46, the Celtics outscored them 38-30 in the paint as Charlotte had trouble converting inside.We have to finish some of these plays, coach Steve Clifford said. You get these point-blank ones and you dont have the floor balance in there back the other way. There were two or three of those that were huge plays.Nicolas Batum led the Hornets with 22 points and 10 rebounds.Ramon Sessions had 13 points and six assists, Marco Belinelli scored 11 and Jeremy Lamb added 10 points for the Hornets.Crowder hit a 3 with 6:11 left to put Boston up 80-79 after Charlotte scored seven straight points. Thomas drew a flagrant foul by Belinelli and hit both free throws. Boston retained possession because of the flagrant, and Crowder drew another foul and added two more free throws to put Boston ahead 84-79.Cody Zeller missed from inside for Charlotte, and Thomas came back with a 3-pointer to make it 87-79 with 4:52 left. Charlotte turned it over right away after the inbounds play and Bradley added another 3 that gave Boston a 90-79 cushion with 4:24 to go.After a basket by Belinelli with 6:32 left completed their 7-0 run, the Hornets went scoreless until his layup with 2:20 remaining cut it to 92-81.Boston held Charlotte to five field goals in the third quarter, when the Hornets were 5 of 23.Charlotte closed the second on a 14-4 run and took a 50-41 lead into halftime. The Hornets led 60-48 early in the third when the Celtics started their surge. Kelly Olynyk hit a 3-pointer to tie it at 62 with 3:57 left, and it was tied 69-all at the end of the third.MISSING KEMBASessions started for Walker and had six assists, but the Hornets offense appeared lost without Walker.Hes one of the best in the league, so we missed him a lot tonight, Batum said. We played better tonight overall. But we should have won that game, anyway. No excuses.COLD OUTSIDEAfter shooting 2 of 14 from beyond the arc in the first half, the Celtics started hitting from outside in the third period. They went 7 of 14 on 3-pointers in the second half and held Charlotte to 19 points in each of the final two quarters.WELCOME BACKThomas hadnt played since scoring 20 points against Houston on Dec. 5. The Celtics went 1/3 in the games he missed and were happy to have him leading the offense once again.It helps all of us just because it opens the floor even more. Teams have to play us a little more honest, said Horford, who also had eight rebounds, five assists and two steals. Its just good to have him back.TIP-INSHornets: Walker is averaging 22.6 points per game. He missed his first game this season, but was expected to return when the Hornets visit Atlanta on Saturday night. Walkers absence made Belinelli and Sessions the only Charlotte players to appear in all 27 games this season.Celtics: Jonas Jerebko scored nine points to lead Bostons reserves.UP NEXTHornets: At the Atlanta Hawks on Saturday night.Celtics: At the Miami Heat on Sunday night. http://www.nflcardinalsrookiestore.com/Cardinals-Andy-Lee-Jersey/ . -- Devin Hester is done returning kicks in Chicago. http:///...rt-Nkemdiche-Jersey/ .2 billion agreement with Rogers Communications for the leagues broadcast and multimedia rights. http:///...Drew-Stanton-Jersey/ . Brett Kulak and Jackson Houck of the Vancouver Giants were each charged with assault causing bodily harm on Aug. 18, according to the B.C. court services. NEW YORK -- Andy Murray had been tossing and turning since arriving in the city that never sleeps.He felt flat on the court in a subdued, sloppy and unusually error-strewn US Open third-round win against Italian journeyman Paolo Lorenzi that went four sets and 3 hours, 17 minutes.I hadnt been sleeping great here, just didnt feel great the last few days, Murray told British newspapers including The Sun, The Times and The Guardian.It was a wake-up call, all right, for the world No. 2, who was being tipped to topple Novak Djokovic for the title here.The performance was in stark contrast to the form that has seen Murray go 25-1, reach his past seven finals, win his third Grand Slam title at Wimbledon and a second straight Olympic gold medal over what has been a grueling summer.So alarming was the slump against Lorenzi that Ivan Lendl and Murrays assistant coach, Jamie Delgado, felt the need to give him a pep talk.I chatted to Ivan and Jamie and it was like, Look, youve got a few days left here, give it everything youve got. Lets be as professional as possible, work hard in practice and go out and fight, give everything youve got in the matches. Theres a break coming soon, Murray added.That was an important chat to have because I definitely was a little bit flat a couple of days ago and I definitely couldnt afford to let that happen against Dimitrov.The talk had its desired effect the night before his last-16 match. His mind at ease, Murray said he slept 12 hours before promptly demolishing Grigor Dimitrov 6-1, 6-2, 6-2 on Arthur Ashee Stadium on Monday. http:///...drian-Wilson-Jersey/. It was a timely reminder to Djokovic, a slight favourite with the bookmakers, that the British No. 1 will take some beating here.The hotels been pretty quiet. I dont know if its been because of the Labor Day weekend, but its been much quieter, Murray said. Theres no noise in the city, really. Maybe that helped.Sleeps the most important thing, I think. Its not easy but you try not to stress about matches, thinking about matches the whole day and wasting a lot of nervous energy as well. You need to save as much as you can for the match court.But just now, its sleeping really. For me, I normally have no issues sleeping, but Ive slept badly here and I felt way better after getting a proper nights sleep.Murray faces Kei Nishikori on Wednesday for a place in the semifinals, and will hope the match goes similar to their meeting at the same stage of the Rio Olympics.I have played well against him in the past, but he likes these conditions, Murray told a news conference after his win over Dimitrov. He plays well in New York. Hes made his only slam final here. He beat Novak here [in 2014].Hes playing pretty well this summer. He played some good stuff at the Olympics and won the bronze. I played a really good match against him when we played a few weeks ago. Im aware Ill need to do that again in a couple days if I want to beat him, because hes one of the best players in the world. Cheap Jerseys 2020Cheap Jerseys ChinaCheap Jerseys StoreWholesale Jerseys 2018Cheap NFL Jerseys WholesaleDiscount NFL JerseysCheap Jerseys StoreNFL Jerseys From ChinaWholesale Jerseys 2018Nike NFL Jerseys ChinaJerseys From ChinaWholesale Black NFL JerseysCheap NFL Jerseys WholesaleChina NFL HoodiesWholesale Authentic Jerseys ' ' '